ILM’s Top 77 Albums of 2018

highly encourage anyone curious about Galapagos to at least check out singles The Bamboo Princess (a modern take on Homogenic-esque orchestration + beats) and Melos (jazzy guitar + dnb breaks + gamelan breakdown, "tortoise writing a pop song") which both have great videos

I remember hearing "three mystic apes" and thinking it was Towa Tei, should probably check this out

three mystic apes is wild. this is a cool fav band to have, ufo

Not that I know them, but going by the sleeve the spelling of their name is “Senyawa”, not “Senjawa”.

when people ask me my fav band, it would be cool to say "oh it's this genre-melting japanese pop band," while I'm usually like "i like the rolling stones"

enjoying WC! for some reason I thought there was usually more japanese-language rapping on their records but this seems to be full art-pop

or at least, an improved, arted-up version of the 'city pop' that all the musicians who go on Terrace House seem to purvey

hey, Sujud is pretty good, especially the last track

Galapagos was fine, nice change of direction but, again, placement is about right. "The Sand Castle" was the track that struck me most IIRC

Weakness is spending one of your 25 – 25! – votes on Tell Me How You Really Feel.

― pomenitul

You’re right — this poll would be so much cooler if everyone here shared the same taste!

http://i.imgur.com/B5njZtY.jpg

#71: Kero Kero Bonito – Time ‘n’ Place - 208 points – 8 votes

KERO KERO BONITO

Mike Schiller: “Time 'n' Place is challenging, but its rewards are commensurate, and while the band may lose some of their more fickle fans with this release, it's always refreshing to see artistic growth put first, especially when it pays off like this.”

Luke Pearson: “It feels like something transitional as if Kero Kero Bonito are working their way into something that is more sustainable than the often wild, sometimes too-cute experiments of their past.”

Ayyy first of my votes to place

Sneakily dark

xps yeah there usually is more rapping, this album's where they chilled out a little and indeed went full art-pop. i don't really hear much to do with city pop revival stuff though

wednesday campanella have been releasing consistently wild and inventive pop at an equally wild rate for an act like them - on average about a full length album every year since 2013 - so they're very enjoyable to keep up with, and their videos are incredible

good album. the EP is better pound-for-pound imo but the album was always going to place over it. gets really good towards the end again

gotta say, this senyawa album is an enjoyable and easy listen; wouldn't have expected that based on the cover and articles i read

kkb album was by far their best yet but still occasionally feels a little slight. hope they continue to get exponentially better

KKB also the first of my votes to place. Sarah on fire with the lyrics on this one. Still waiting for the vinyl edition to hit UK stores...

think 'Melos' made me think of city-pop tbh! it's only a hint but I think it's in the mix along with many other things

thumbs up for the rollout so far

visiting hours -> if i'd known is SO good

― imago, Monday, 1 October 2018 09:31 (four months ago) Permalink

this is still the key part of the KKB album imo

Definitely want to hear more Wednesday Campanella based on the one entry in the top 177 tracks list

thinking now, as it plays, that having T'n'P just outside my 25 might have been underrating it slightly. but then I'd have had to break my one-release-per-artist rule. maybe I'll make a fantasy combination album with the TOTEP tracks slotted in somewhere

I'm worried the KKB album won't be as fun as Only Acting. Is it?

almost/sometimes, yes

Weirdly enjoying Courtney Barnett this morning after posting that I found her dull.

I must be hitting some of the more peppy tracks.

I liked KKB's cover of "rock n'roll star"

http://i.imgur.com/l0FJD25.jpg

#70: Kadhja Bonet – Childqueen - 208 points – 9 votes

Let's listen to Kadhja Bonet and discuss her soulful psychedelic sounds

Adriane Ponetcorvo: “Kadhja Bonet carefully chooses how much of her the world can know. In doing so, she remains weightless, an artist ephemeral, even as her genre-resistant music makes a serious sonic impact.”

Diva Harris: “From the back seat of an intergalactic Ford Pinto, possibly driven by Minnie Riperton, a supernaturally excellent album.”

I'm worried the KKB album won't be as fun as Only Acting. Is it?

― frame casual (dog latin), Monday, February 4, 2019 5:18 PM (eight minutes ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

I was worried about this but was proven wrong. It's more fun.

Oh yeah!

Heck yes! Also, I think I forgot to vote for this, so it should have placed higher.

This opening stretch has been largely fantastic.

Never heard of this one, sounds intriguing.

WC seems like a band I should be listening to.

nm, I did vote for it. 👍

I keep meaning to follow Moka's advice and listen to Bonet's previous album, but this one builds its own lovely little world

That's already two I forgot to vote for! (Khadja and Senyawa.)

Ten seconds in, this is this year's L'Rain, isn't it? I mean I can hardly hope it's as good, but

Childqueen was pleasant enough but never got really into it, maybe if i'd given it a few more tries?

Not that I know them, but going by the sleeve the spelling of their name is “Senyawa”, not “Senjawa”.

OTM

ditto for me xp

Hmm, it's much less effortlessly dreamlike than L'Rain, more mannered. Will still give it a good go

more minimalist than L'Rain I'd also say. in terms of stuff I know an imago likes, I'd say it's closer to Weyes Blood than L'Rain in spirit if not in genre

Yeah it's not helpful to think of this in terms of L'Rain. Much more in the...I want to say Laura Mvula bracket? Enjoying it cautiously so far

With a bit of Connan Mockasin thrown in

I think the thing that held me back from falling deeply in love with this album is that the songs themselves are magnificent but the production lacks a fullness and warmth that would fully bring them into life. Still a total downer jam, though.

I find Bonet's singing hard to engage with, it's a bit distancing? But I'm giving the record another go now. Does she do all those sumptuous arrangements herself?

I find Bonet's singing hard to engage with

I never quite got why this album was often put across as alt-r&b. It's got more in common with someone like Petula Clark than Gladys Knight.

I tried a couple of times with the Bonet, but I wasn’t feeling it.

Good selection of albums on those last four. I don't really get Grae & Chris, bass-driven but deconstructed and not really pleasant instrumentally, though I've reached House Call and like this one. I returned to Senyawa the other day and realized I can just enjoy them on a purely sonic level - impressive sound and ambiance. I liked what I heard from Wednesday Campanella during the campaign, I imagine they could have placed a track like Bamboo Princess rather than appear here, but why not. I don't get KKB. Childqueen is certainly very well made but it was like a nice background painting and rather forgettable to me, except for tracks like Second Wind and Delphine.